The invention is concerned with a current collector for the photoscope of a photoelectric control arrangement intended for use in a flame cutting machine and consisting of an insulating plate, which has a mounting for electrical plugs on one side and on the other side has contact wires electrically connected with the plugs.
The control of the well known flame cutting machine results photoelectrically via a so-called photoscope, the detector head of which scans the form of the workpiece to be flame cut on a drawing by travelling along the drawing's lines. The movement of the detector head effected by the lines is transmitted via the control element of the photoscope to the proper control installation of the flame cutting machine, by which the movement of the torches is controlled.
The detector hand of the photoscope is in itself of known construction and has aside from its optical arrangement, a number of photocells by means of which the drawing lines are scanned. Each photocell is electrically connected to a contact ring, or the like, which is mounted onto the housing interior side of a roller which carries the detector head.
To these contact rings (on the outer side of the roller), a current collector is attached which is electrically connected with the control arrangement of the photoscope. According to the incidence of light into the photocells, these produce weak controlling currents which are lead via the current collector into the collection apparatus by means of which the drives of the detector head as well as the control apparatus for the movement of the cutting torches are actuated.
A known current collector (later described) is built into the photoscope and has an insulating plate with the plugs mounted on one side thereof and their electrically connected contact wires disposed on the other side thereof. These wires are arranged in two rows facing each other with the wires facing each other being electrically connected. A roller carrying rings is disposed between both rows of wires whereby a pair of such wires touches each contact ring.
A disadvantage with these known current collectors is that the contact wires are relatively rigid and unmovable and as a result, the danger is often encountered, that after long usage, due to wear, a connection between the wires and the contact rings is no longer guaranteed.
Furthermore, the rigid contact wires have no side play so that it can happen as a result, for example, that a wire comes in contact with a contact ring on the roller of the detector head other than the contact ring corresponding to it.